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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 23, 2015 20:46:15 GMT
Well, I think you make an excellent case for the charm, some of which isn't all that discreet, but indeed rather showy & fun. (but of course I'm a sucker for pointy hats on towers).
I can see that the no-water chasm was a little disappointing, but still -- a foresty chasm in the middle of a city is pretty nice. Ditto all the trees all over the city.
My only quibble is that the big banks are all modern, whereas I envisioned them as those hushed cathedrals to money -- all marble & echoes.
Great report!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2015 20:49:38 GMT
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Post by htmb on Jul 24, 2015 4:56:10 GMT
Oh, I do like these views.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2015 5:03:29 GMT
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Post by patricklondon on Jul 24, 2015 6:45:41 GMT
Just out of curiosity, is the signage (other than that aimed at tourists) generally multilingual or do individual organisations favour French or German or Letzeburgisch? My blog | My photos | My video clips"too literate to be spam"
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Post by tod2 on Jul 24, 2015 12:09:39 GMT
I love the old part of the city, and I agree with Bixa about the modern architecture.... sometimes there are just too many modern buildings to compete with, but that's progress I guess. Bjd, Nothing in Europe, or America, or Britain is boring to me. We are so backward here that everything looks so exciting over there. The buses, the railways (especially!), the safety aspect....it's all wonderful! Even Vancouver.. I'm sure they all think the bush, the wild animals, the easy life here -for some of us, is also attractive.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2015 12:38:46 GMT
Just out of curiosity, is the signage (other than that aimed at tourists) generally multilingual or do individual organisations favour French or German or Letzeburgisch? The language is one of the interestingly weird things about Luxembourg. For example, Lëtzebuergesch has been the official national language only since 1984, but there seems to be a sort of administrative free-for-all. Stamps are labelled in French, but the euro coins on the other hand are marked Lëtzebuerg. Road signs are nearly always in French. The vast majority of administrative and judicial texts are in French, and French is the only language used for writing laws. Fiscal and property administrations use German, the reason for this being is that most of the laws dealing with such matters were directly copied from German laws. Schooling begins in Lëtzebuergesch, switches to German in 1st grade and then French kicks in in 2nd grade. Now get this: Portuguese is the primary language of 16% of the population, and it is the only language you hear in certain neighbourhoods. All important legal notices and election documents are printed in French, German, Portuguese and English. In shops (except for Portuguese shops), you will mostly always hear French because most of the employees are from France. And of course in the banking and eurocrat professions, everybody speaks English at work. I love the old part of the city, and I agree with Bixa about the modern architecture.... sometimes there are just too many modern buildings to compete with, but that's progress I guess. I think that a lot of local people must have been complaining about all of the construction, because a lot of the fences around construction projects had big signs proclaiming "A city that changes is a dynamic city."
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2015 13:01:53 GMT
This old building is undergoing major renovation rather than being replaced with something modern. The front of it has the original name ARBED. This was one of the major steel companies in the world. It is the acronym for Aciéries Réunies de Burbach-Eich-Dudelange (United Steelworks of B-E-D) and was really a monster conglomerate before Luxembourg ever even heard about banking. It merged with the major French and Spanish steelworks Usinor and Aceralia in 2002 and became Arcelor. And then it merged in turn with the Indian steel giant Mittal in 2006 and has now become Arcelor Mittal, the biggest steel company in the world. I'll get back to Luxembourg one of these days and fill in some gaps...
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Post by anshjain97 on Jul 24, 2015 13:35:44 GMT
Not having heard great stuff about Luxembourg City, this thread changes my viewpoint- it seems like a nice place for a couple of days. Coming from India, a clean and orderly city itself is an attraction...
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Post by tod2 on Jul 24, 2015 13:40:09 GMT
... a clean and orderly city itself is an attraction... Yes certainly, that was another thing we lack in some of our cities....mind you, not all. The smaller ones can be quite charming and spotless - depending on the mayor of the town at the time...
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 24, 2015 19:34:52 GMT
Oooo ~ you've posted more great stuff since my last comment. Love the big vases, the leafy and the lofty views, and the super fountain pics. Also compliments on the segue from your exposition on the languages to that great "Arrangement in Grey and Black" and thence to the shots of the seedier side of the city.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 24, 2015 19:38:55 GMT
Without any more details, the (female) friend I spoke of is southeast Asian. And in this case, the attraction to her (EU citizen) husband certainly wasn't a matter of money. And they are still together (two middle-aged people).
I'm glad you showed us the seedier side of this otherwise almost impeccable town.
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Post by tod2 on Jul 26, 2015 11:49:29 GMT
Unexpected insight into Luxembourg. I always imagined these cities to be totally devoid of "clubs" and sexy things. Where was my mind?!! I did smile at "Mossie" walking down the road with his new hip... But maybe not as much as "Happy GOO Supermarket" what 'goo' could we be enticed to buy?...
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Post by mossie on Jul 27, 2015 18:28:06 GMT
I should be so lucky.
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Post by nycgirl on Aug 5, 2015 17:04:36 GMT
I love the shots of the ancient fortifications and the lush green valley. But good lord, will the love locks craze ever end?
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